The human hurricane known as Mandy Patinkin sets down this weekend for three concerts with the Cincinnati Pops, his first appearance with the Pops since 1991.  

‘Tis the season for an abundance of music that includes beloved traditions: Handel’s oratorio Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. Both pieces are holiday staples performed year after year. After year.  

In 2010, Natalie Merchant made a lovely two-disc album called Leave Your Sleep, inspired by the way raising her young daughter had given Merchant insight into the mysteries and complexities — the sweetness and the anxieties — of childhood. She wrote songs adapted from the words of 19th and 20th Century British and American poets whose children-related verse struck her as powerful.  

The relatively mild summer is giving way to what could well be a mild fall, so maybe the only excitement we'll see this season will be the Classical music offerings. As always, Maestro Paavo Jarvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra offer a wide array of talent for the CSO's 115th season, including the Sept. 17 one-night-only appearance of piano superstar Lang Lang.